CH 10

Eleanor widened her eyes at Adrian’s unexpected compliment. Embarrassed, she gulped down the remaining wine in the glass.

“Drink slowly. You’re drunk.”

Adrian didn’t forget his request even as he refilled Eleanor’s glass.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know. Originally, one drinks to get drunk.”

“That just sounded like my father…”

Eleanor burst out laughing and reached for her glass. Delicious food, expensive wine, and a good friend. Eleanor was very excited.

Her cheeks grew redder as the bottle became empty. When traces of drunkenness began to turn red on Adrian’s cheeks, Eleanor’s full-fledged injection began.

“Rian, you, do you know the sorrow of workers?”

She said, her eyes half-closed, pointing at Adrian. Her tongue was very twisted.

“I don’t know. But you also don’t know, Ellen. You were at home the whole time.”

“I! Know.”

Eleanor responded by punching him in the chest.

“I! Know eeeeeverything.”

“Yeah, because you’re smart.”

Adrian gave her a small nod. Not as much as her, but he was equally drunk.

Pretending to hold her chin, Eleanor began to grumble.

“Have you ever taken calls from parents until midnight? Huh?”

“What is a call?”

“That thing exwists… You don’t have to know.”

“Okay.”

He nodded his head obediently. Eleanor tried to slam her fist down on the table, yet Adrian quickly blocked it with his hand.

“I’m not God! Their son has no talent for studies, though…”

“Right. One may not have a talent for studying. Like Prince Lucas.”

Adrian unknowingly spat out unfaithful words. Eleanor, who nodded in agreement, let out a long sigh.

“But why are they blaming me for thaaaat…”

“Such strange people.”

“That’s right. They’re strange people. The problem is that there are too many such strange people in the world.”

Eleanor shook her head slightly. Suddenly, the hardships of her previous life flashed before her eyes like a kaleidoscope, and she was filled with sadness.

Oh, how many days it has been.

“I, I did live really hard, though? I mean, I tried my best to get rid of the label of poverty. I lived without knowing how to sleep.”

Tears welled up in Eleanor’s eyes. Adrian, who nodded and listened to her story, hesitated.

“Ellen, since when did the Count become poor?”

And you went to bed at midnight and woke up close to noon, though.

Eleanor, lightly ignoring his logical rebuttal, gave him a small snort.

“Hng, you, who have grown up so beautifully, don’t know the bitter taste of poverty.”

“You also don’t know.”

“You, who were born with a golden spoon in your mouth, should be grateful, Rian.”

“What is a gold spoon?”

“A spoon made of gold…? There is such a thing. Don’t make it complicated like a young master.”

Eleanor waved her hand as if she, who had been pondering for a moment, was annoyed.

“I lived so hard… You have no idea how futile life is.”

“You keep saying I don’t know something since earlier.”

“Rian, how old are you?”

“I’m the same age as you.”

“You’re young, young. It’s the best time.”

Eleanor clicked her tongue and tousled Adrian’s hair in a cute way.

‘Ah, she’s really drunk.’

Resigned, Adrian quietly placed his head in her hands. They’ve been friends since they were young, yet it was fresh as it was the first time he’d seen her without hesitation.

She was friendly, but he thought it was difficult to know all about her inside, but she didn’t feel any barriers from the current Eleanor.

“That’s why I wanted to live a comfortable life now. Just enjoying myself… If I’ve lived that busy, I have to live lazily this time.”

“So you don’t want to teach anyone?”

Adrian, who was pondering Eleanor’s words, asked slowly.

“It’s not that I don’t want to. I have no confidence.”

Eleanor rubbed her feverish forehead against the back of her cold hand, puffing out her cheeks.

‘I don’t know what she’s talking about, but she sure is cute.’

Adrian’s lips, which had been staring at Eleanor like that, relaxed slowly. Occasionally, it didn’t seem so bad to clink glasses together like this.

Just the two of them. That was always what mattered. The two of them.

“All I teach are participle phrases, relative pronouns, and so on. Fill in the blanks, put connectives… Something like that.”

“Ellen, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“It’s perfectly normal. You don’t have to look like that.”

Eleanor, looking at the dazed Adrian, let out a small laugh. She laughed out loud and his mind went blank. She must have been overly excited about drinking for the first time in a long time.

As she recounted her past stories, she felt as if she had become Go Yeo-Jin rather than Lady Everett.

She, obviously, didn’t want to go back to that time. Eleanor couldn’t be happier with her life now.

However, when she remembered the moment she lived fiercely enough to sometimes that time, really sometimes, it itched.

Excluding the monthly living expenses, the faces of the parents whom she didn’t want to meet because there was no point of contact, the friends whom she didn’t even contact at some point, and the students who followed her as ‘teacher’ were constantly spotted.

[Teacher, I don’t want to go home.]

[Everyone wants to go home early, but why don’t you?]

[Just because. I feel most comfortable when I’m at the Academy.]

Through a gap in her clouded mind, a moment from the past suddenly came to her mind. It was a memory that she obsessively got rid of as she didn’t want to recall it.

[I’m glad I have you, Teacher.]

[How silly.]

Eleanor’s eyelashes quivered. Quickly suppressing her emotions, she spoke in a nonchalant voice.

“Feeling responsible for someone’s life is more exhausting than you think.”

“…Ellen, are you crying?”

“Who says I’m crying.”

I’m not crying.

Eleanor murmured softly and fell asleep with her head on the table. Since then, it’s been dark.

***

“Ellen, you really don’t know when to stop.”

“Ugh… I’m thirsty. Give me some water.”

As soon as she opened her eyes, a terrible hangover engulfed Eleanor. Her head throbbed as if it would crack, and her stomach rumbled like motion sickness. It was a terribly unpleasant sensation whenever she felt it.

‘I let go of the reins and ran like that, knowing that I would suffer from a hangover. Human mistakes are endless…’

It was a belated regret. Her mouth was dry and her throat was burning. Dwight clicked his tongue and passed along the water.

“How much alcohol have you been drinking? If Mother and Father saw it, you would have been banned from going out for a while.”

“That’s a relief. I only drank a bottle of wine, and it would have been unfair if I had been banned from going out.”

“Why do you pretend to be a drinker every time, when you’re not good at drinking?”

Dwight asked, frowning at her as if he really didn’t understand.

“It’s because I don’t go well with wine. Or maybe this body is too weak.”

Even five bottles of soju were once easy for her. Eleanor, swallowing the words inside, returned the empty glass. Dwight, accustomed to accepting it, sat down on the sofa next to the bed.

“Adrian took me home, right?”

“To be precise, he picked you up himself, put you down on the bed, and went away.”

“My goodness.”

Her face flushed with belated embarrassment. She couldn’t quite remember what she was talking about, but she had a hunch that it wouldn’t be pleasant.

‘Let’s not think about it. It’s better to just forget about the past.’

Whether he was aware of Eleanor, who was uneasy, or not, Dwight nudged her with his playful voice.

“Hasn’t it been like this before? Since then, Adrian hasn’t even showed his nose, so I thought he must have been badly burned by you.”

“I was on a business trip for work. My head is ringing, so please keep that damn mouth shut.”

Eleanor growled and tossed a pillow. Dwight, who had lightly accepted it with a chuckle, brought up another topic as if he had suddenly remembered it.

“Ah, have you received the invitation from the Imperial Palace?”

“The Imperial Palace…?”

“At first glance, it seems like the Prince sent it. Any guesses?”

Unfortunately, she had some guesses.

The cute prince seemed to have decided to avenge her kindness. Adding to the stress of her hangover, she really had the urge to slap herself on the scruff of her neck and pass out.

“I’d rather you tell Father. That I drank alcohol from a crate and was carried like a burden on the shoulders of a stranger. Then he will issue a stay-at-home order at once.”

Eleanor pulled a blanket up to her waist, her eyes glistened. However, Dwight laughed and logically broke her wish.

“However, consider it first that the other man is Adrian, whom Father considers like his son-in-law.”

“Damn it.”

“The fact that the Imperial Family sent an invitation to you would be a second consideration.”

“Go to hell!”

Eleanor, who had uttered the most terrifying curse she knew, pondered.

What is the cause of all this?

Obviously it’s that jerk, Dwigh, but isn’t there a more fundamental problem than that?

“Dwight, I’ve been thinking a lot.”

Dwight’s gaze, filled with doubts, turned to Eleanor.

“Am I that pretty?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Adrian said so. That I don’t have too much self-awareness about how pretty I am.”

“Both of you are out of your minds…”

Dwight shook his head with a pale face. As if Eleanor couldn’t even see such a Dwight, she didn’t stop her mutters.

“It’s a big deal. I want to live quietly, but the world won’t let me go.”

“Did you decide to just go out now? Or what kind of strategy is this?”

“Isn’t this really how the article becomes reality? Following Valentine and Blake, even the Bellium family is obsessed with me.”

“Turns out you’re just half sober.”

Dwight’s scolding went unheard for a moment. Eleanor added, nodding her head quite seriously.

“I didn’t know because I had never been well until now, but lately I’m learning that life isn’t easy to be born and live a good life.”

“I care for you, but to be honest, it’s a bit unlucky.”

Either that or not.

Eleanor’s thoughts went in a slightly different direction.

“Am I really going to set up a big academy? I’m sipping tea in the director’s office… Dwight, you make a big print of your shiny face on flyers to dazzle the parents.”

Having said that, it doesn’t sound like such a bad opinion. There’s something she can’t do if she’s just a director like the boss.

“What is a flyer?”

“Ah, right. There are no photos here yet. Such a pity. Your face is perfect for propaganda purposes.”

“Why do you keep muttering strange things? Ellen, are you really sick?”

Dwight strode over and touched her forehead, as if he was really worried now.

“I don’t have a fever.”

“I’m fine. Bring me the invitation.”

Dwight’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Eleanor, who looked completely unwell.

But as soon as she added so, he obediently brought the invitation that was on the desk.

“Here. Looking at the handwriting, it seemed that the Prince wrote it himself.”